My "Hey Ya" Obsession

I spend a ridiculous amount of time reading way too deeply into “Hey Ya” by Outkast, a song that is sung-rapped by Andre 3000, who, like everyone else, I am in love with. Obviously. Every few months I bring Hey Ya up to some unsuspecting person who truly couldn’t care less about my analysis of the chart-topping, pop-sounding song. The conversation usually starts off with me shamelessly inquiring, “do you know the lyrics to Hey Ya?” in an attempt to lure everyone down the rabbit hole with me. Yes, I know rap genius exists, but let me have this one. Come on, take the bait… hum it. That over-played, overly-happy song with the repetitive chorus. What are the lyrics?

Well, I’ll tell you what they’re not… happy. Andre 3000 counts down to the opening of his upbeat, jaunty, heart-wrenching tune. One, two, three, huh!

Verse One:

My baby don't mess around

Because she loves me so

And this I know for sure

But does she really wanna

But can't stand to see me

Walk out the door?

3000 deceives us with the first line. It’s what helps us believe this is a feel-good song. But he immediately pivots into wandering if his significant other thinks about having sex with other men, and the only reason she doesn’t is because she loves him and wouldn’t want to hurt him, thus prompting him to leave. Oh, the monotony of monogamy *deep sighs*.

Don't try to fight the feelin'

'Cause the thought alone

Is killing me right now

Uh, thank God for mom and dad

For sticking two together

'Cause we don't know how

3000 continues verse one with, what could be read as, a double entendre. “Sticking two together” could be a reference to two people maintaining a committed relationship and/or sex between two people in a committed relationship. This line alludes to the fact that older generations were more likely to get together and stay together forever, despite reasons not to. Perhaps they did so because they felt a duty to each other and to their children. He could even be saying that young people these days don’t understand romantic love in the same way that our parents understood it. Maybe through this differing understanding of love, we’ve realized our desire to share ourselves and our love with more than just one person for the rest of our lives. Most of us just don’t know how to go about non-monogamy properly. Additionally, verse one sends a message that it’s important for us to realize our insecurities, not only about our relationships, but about ourselves. 3000 had no clue whether or not his partner actually felt trapped, he allowed a singular intrusive thought to cause him mental anguish. Could this verse be a statement about how certain people sabotage their own relationships because of commitment issues? Or am I projecting? Either way, the answer is yes.

Chorus:

Hey, ya [repeat]

I think this is just Benjamin’s way of throwing us off the scent of his depressing little song. Don’t think I can’t find some deeper meaning to it, though. Maybe in part two. Moving on.

Verse 2:

You think you've got it

Oh, you think you've got it

But got it just don't get it

'Til there's nothing at all

We get together

Oh, we get together

But separate's always better

When there's feelings involved

Young people always believe that they’re (we’re?) in love. More often than not, that first love doesn’t last, and the second one probably won’t either. Even when you do find “the one,” you realize that love can be laborious and that it’s something you have to work on constantly. You have to work on loving yourself and your significant other. It’s scary and sometimes it’s easier to simply… not. It’s easier to spare your feelings by pretending they don’t exist and forbid yourself from falling in love ever again. Another reference to those commitment issues.

If what they say is "Nothing is forever"

Then what makes... love the exception

So why… Are we so in denial

When we know we're not happy here?

Now, here it is. The best part of the song. The part that 3Stacks decidedly wrote to rip my heart out and play jump rope with. Yes, I’ve chosen histrionics for this essay. This line is especially hard for me to deal with because there’s no subtext. He said what he said — I don’t even have to read into it. But let’s. 3000 sings a common cliché, “nothing lasts forever,” then he asks why we think that love is the one exception to the rule. Love is an abstract concept that most of us can’t even define for ourselves, yet somehow we think we can hold onto it, unchanged, for eternity. We convince ourselves that love can’t die and we end up in relationships that are in a consistent state of failing, but we’re too afraid and too stuck to let go. Are these the words of a pessimist, or a realist?

Y'all don't wanna hear me, you just wanna dance

And dance we did, Andre. And dance we did.

Chorus:

Hey, ya (x3)

Don't want to meet your daddy

Hey, ya

Just want you in my Caddy

Hey, ya

Don't want to meet your mama

Hey, ya

Just want to make you cumma...

I'm just being honest

Andre 3000 continues with the theme of humans wanting to have sex with multiple people, sometimes in leui of being in a serious monogamous relationship – but sometimes whilst in a monogamous relationship. In the beginning, he thanks parents for being models for how we should love each other, but in this adlib, he states that he does not want to meet a woman’s parents. Due to our issues with commitment and our lack of understanding of the different ways there are to love a person/people, we end up believing it would be more apt to avoid love altogether and replace it with casual sex.

Bridge:

Hey, alright now

Alright now fellas yeah!

Now what's cooler than bein' cool?

(Ice cold!)

I can't hear ya'

I say what's, what's cooler than bein' cool?

(Ice cold!)

Now I know this might be reaching (and don't say this entire essay is reaching, it will hurt my feelings). In this bridge, Andre acts as though he is shouting to an audience, he asks the men “what’s cooler than being cool,” to which they respond “ice cold.” I cannot help but wonder if this is a reference to men acting aloof to pretend that they're tough and incapable of love. That kind of indifferent and distant attitude could be seen as too cool, or even “cold.”

Shake it like a Polaroid picture

You know what to do!

Finally, to end this emotional roller-coaster of a song, 3000 instructs the audience to continue dancing to the music. He knew we wouldn’t be able to fully absorb the sad reality of this un-love song, over the jovial beat and the theatrical performance featured in the Hey Ya music video. Right he was.